feels like i've failed my girls :(

J

jojoyurz

Junior Guinea Pig
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a year ago, i moved them from a 5x2 cage to a 3x2 cage for a temporary move. we were going to attempt to join my sisters two guinea pigs with mine, just needed a couple of weeks of them getting used to each other in separate cages next to each other. but then, one of my sisters guinea pigs passed, then her guinea pig was having domestic problems with mine, then exams came for both of us, and suddenly a whole year passed and i just suddenly realised today how badly i’ve failed them. i just can’t believe i’ve let this happen. two of my girls turn five in november, they’ve been living a quarter of their life in a 90x60cm and i just can’t believe myself anymore. i went to feed them this evening and they ran straight to me & reached for the very top of the cage as soon as i opened the lid, hanging onto the bars with their little paws, wriggling their tiny nose to smell their food and their cute little lips and i could feel their little whiskers shifting beneath my fingertips and i just can’t believe that after all this time in that cage, they still get so excited every time they see me. they’ve preserved their love all this time, they still recognise me by my footsteps, they’ll still run towards my hand when i reach into their cage to give them peaflakes, they still trust me so much with their care i’m just so heartbroken i’ve let their pure hearts stay like this for so long. i don’t think i’ll ever be able to forgive myself

will they still be able to adapt if i move them back into a 5x2 cage? i’ll have to buy a new one, so it’ll be completely devoid of any old scents, traces or any sense of familiarity. will they be okay? i’m worried for my older two, the youngest has only just turned two and i’m 99% sure she’s visually impaired with not a single active braincell, she’s survived her very self so i’m not worried about her. if there’s anything i can do to make this easier on them, please, please tell me, i’m desperate to give them everything
 
Welcome to the forum and please don’t be hard on yourself, you have clearly loved them and cared for them and for that they love you!

Do change their cage back to a bigger size, they will be absolutely fine with that being done.
Transfer the bedding from the old cage to the new cage once you change its size (ie don’t clean them out when you do it) - that will transfer scent so they will still recognise the space as their own.
After a few days you can then clean them out and go back to your normal cleaning schedule.
They will be fine!

Do tell us more about your piggies! You can add a picture too if you would like to!
 
thank you, genuinely, you’ve got no idea how much that means to me. i might’ve burst into tears of relief and had to take a minute to calm down enough to write aha, thank you 🩷
when you say transfer the same bedding; should i wait the same days i usually would before deep cleaning their cage, or should i only let them sit with the same bedding a day or so before moving them & the bedding to the new cage? i use fleece liners and change & wash the liners twice a week, so they would sit in the same bedding for about a week if i wait those 3-4 days that usually go by between changing the liners. i’m only asking on behalf of their comfort; i can handle the smell of the bedding as long as that’s best for their comfort & security 💞

i got my oldest two back in 2020, they actually look extremely similar to the guinea pigs my sister and i had when we were younger- they’re kalea and aisha! i kept them by my bed the first year of their life, and somewhere along the way, i had managed to accidentally train them to reach for the very top of the cage panel to get peaflakes. they were my alarm most mornings, i would wake up by a wheek and a couple of paws clattering, then be met with their mischievous little faces peeking up :,)
then one of them decided to go on her own little adventure, escaped the cage & was sorely aggrieved when i found her and put her back in the cage, that’s when i decided they were getting a cage upgrade *with* a roof! my youngest is from 2023, i got her right after my grandma passed away, so i named her after her- her name was birgitte, so her middle name is bibs! the other two made me think a herd of 7 would be perfect, she was the kid that made me realise 3 was plenty :,)
i actually have so few photos of them, i always take videos of them instead of pictures </3 one of them is from when the youngest was just 7-8 weeks old & still a lil’ unstable, she was slowly but surely making her way over to the camera for a peaflake i wish i could show the actual video it’s one of my favourite of her🥹 it was just a day or two after i got her & she had already began claiming the place, she was even eating from my hand, yelling at me, running up to greet me, the whole thing.. it sounds odd but her warming up that quickly has been one of my proudest moments in life😭💓 again, thank you, so so much for your response, i truly appreciate it💕IMG_3872.webpIMG_3870.webpIMG_3886.webpIMG_3875.webp
 
Piggies&buns said:
Welcome to the forum and please don’t be hard on yourself, you have clearly loved them and cared for them and for that they love you!

Do change their cage back to a bigger size, they will be absolutely fine with that being done.
Transfer the bedding from the old cage to the new cage once you change its size (ie don’t clean them out when you do it) - that will transfer scent so they will still recognise the space as their own.
After a few days you can then clean them out and go back to your normal cleaning schedule.
They will be fine!

Do tell us more about your piggies! You can add a picture too if you would like to!
Click to expand...
ouh i think i forgot to reply to your message instead of just adding onto my post, i’m still figuring out the website sorry😭💓
 
With the bedding, all that matters is that some scent is on it - that will happen within hours.,
so it’s fine to change the bedding in the current cage, leave them in there for a day and then move them to their new cage the next day.
 
What a lovely heart felt post about your guinea pigs. I look forward to hearing more about them and to hearing how they settle back into their lovely bigger set up.
 
Piggies&buns said:
With the bedding, all that matters is that some scent is on it - that will happen within hours.,
so it’s fine to change the bedding in the current cage, leave them in there for a day and then move them to their new cage the next day.
Click to expand...
thank you thank you thank you! i’ll remember to do so, thank you so much!💗💓
 
flowerfairy said:
What a lovely heart felt post about your guinea pigs. I look forward to hearing more about them and to hearing how they settle back into their lovely bigger set up.
Click to expand...
i’ll update if i can figure out how to do so once they’ve settled in! i’m hoping everything goes well, they were so happy & excited when they first got their cage upgrade, i really hope to see a similar reaction🥹💗
 
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